Jan Vesely

[Hoopalotta]

He also shows you a near airball free throw, an airball 3 and a number of bad passes, so it's balanced footage.

self czech?

Well, it's cute and I could see some "we dub thee...." on a situational basis after certain games, but it wouldn't really be accurate for the above game in that he had 18 points on 9 shots, including 2 long balls and four dunks, which was good for second on the team in scoring (behind Curtis Jerrels who nailed 6-7 from beyond the stripe).

This is the boxscore: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Ser ... 0_1746.asp

He's also shown me some nice passing as well, it's just that he balances it with bad passes interspersed.

[TGW]

Hoop -- correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Jan second to Gist is scoring on that team?

It's funny that Jan gets attacked for his "paltry 10 ppg" but that was second on the team behind Gist, I believe. And I think Jan was infinitely more efficient.

[pancakes3]

He also shows you a near airball free throw, an airball 3 and a number of bad passes, so it's balanced footage.

self czech?

Well, it's cute and I could see some "we dub thee...." on a situational basis after certain games, but it wouldn't really be accurate for the above game in that he had 18 points on 9 shots, including 2 long balls and four dunks, which was good for second on the team in scoring (behind Curtis Jerrels who nailed 6-7 from beyond the stripe).

This is the boxscore: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Ser ... 0_1746.asp

He's also shown me some nice passing as well, it's just that he balances it with bad passes interspersed.

yeah, i was just messing around. i don't think he's a self-check, or even DMac out there. however you can bet that's what i'll scream at my tv every time he muffs a pass off his knee

[SumTingWong]

For those that missed it I uploaded vid of the Comcast Sportsnet report on yesterdays press conference to my youtube account...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igrH3-nbfFI[/youtube]

EDIT:

And this is Vesely's interview with Chris Miller from the same broadcast...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDwklY9SBtg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL[/youtube]

[Illuminaire]

On an unrelated note, it just occurred to me that in the months leading up to the draft, I finally picked up NBA2k11 and started a My Player.

My dude was...
..... European
..... extremely athletic
..... a great offensive rebounder and dunker
..... deadly on the fast break
..... an excellent defender
..... a mediocre shooter

After I forced a trade to the Wizards, we rolled all the way to a 5th seed in the playoffs. I'm not saying I have magical powers, I'm just saying that if we end up around the 5th seed and Jan is playing serious minutes... ok, yeah, then I have magical powers.

[Hoopalotta]

Hoop -- correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Jan second to Gist is scoring on that team?

It's funny that Jan gets attacked for his "paltry 10 ppg" but that was second on the team behind Gist, I believe. And I think Jan was infinitely more efficient.

Yeah, that's right, though Jan did outscore Gist in the Serbian League. Gist appears to have been fairly efficient overall as a stretchy four who shot a lot of 3's, but his conversion rates on the 2-points is way down from our man Ves - for all 60 games, it was 51% versus 66% though no breakdowns on specific situations there (you'd figure the .74% synergy numbers at the rim for Jan are well ahead of Gist; I forget why exactly now, but there was something about the Synergy numbers that made me think they were just for the Euroleage).

As noted, they had Gist often out beyond the stripe and I saw some sets where this was worked to facilitate Ves posting up on the left block and the big old plodding center on the right. Seemed rather effective and Jan was doing a good job passing out of the post in spots too. The enemy forces generally had to double team him here based on his size advantage against their wings (they probably would not have had to do that against their post guys).

Partizan was pretty impressive overall and I'd expect they'd be an outright buzzsaw going through NCAA teams, but the competition was not always to that level outside of the Euroleague. Hemofarm was fairly "meh" for a team playing in the finals of the Serbian League, for example.

[hands11]

Wall/Craw/Mack
Nick/Craw/Mack
Booker/Singleton/Jan
Dray/Lewis/Jan/Seraphin
McGee/Seraphin/Hamady

Za

I put Booker there just to start the season because I dont want Lewis starting with that group and Booker is the most qualified to start.

Lewis is a more rounded scorer and a vet. I would like to see him with the second group. That first group has enough scoring in Nick, Wall and Dray. They dont need Lewis. Booker adds toughness and rebounding and touch put backs in the post. Playing SF with that group, he will be fine.

Booker showed me enough toward the end of the season that I feel comfortable with him starting. What I was getting at is, I want them to play the players they need to evaluate. I hope Lewis doesnt eat up to many minutes. I would rather see more of Booker, Singleton, Jan, and Seraphin between SF and PF.

Actually, if they line them up like that, they just might win some games. That team should be able to come at you with a lot of energy. How good they are will largely depend on how much better players have gotten and how soon the new guys fit in. Jan should move up the slots quickly if he is ready. Just not putting him there to start the season. Give it a few games for him to find his feet.

[nate33]

Boiler isn't a small forward.

[montestewart]

Boiler isn't a small forward.

Remember when EJ was talking about Butler and Arvis at PF? All it takes is one clear thinker to see the possibilities that the others are missing.

Looking at the roster, the glut of names that can takes minutes at PF and even at C, along with added depth at PF, nicely sets up a consolidation trade or two involving Blatche and perhaps other pieces like Crawford, Seraphin, Booker, Mack, Hamady, picks, maybe even a resigned Young, for an upgrade at PF (better rebounder, defender, inside scorer, reliable stretch PF) or scoring wing, or even just adding a good 3+D swingman for Blatche and looking for his ideal replacement through the draft or other acquisitions.

Starting a revived Rashard at SF gives the Wall help in opening things up, but I don't mind Vesely or Singleton starting if they bring something to justify it. Booker's 1st big off the bench, only SF during oddball mismatches that (hopefully) the Wizards themselves created advantageously.

[fishercob]

Boiler isn't a small forward.

Remember when EJ was talking about Butler and Arvis at PF? All it takes is one clear thinker to see the possibilities that the others are missing.

Looking at the roster, the glut of names that can takes minutes at PF and even at C, along with added depth at PF, nicely sets up a consolidation trade or two involving Blatche and perhaps other pieces like Crawford, Seraphin, Booker, Mack, Hamady, picks, maybe even a resigned Young, for an upgrade at PF (better rebounder, defender, inside scorer, reliable stretch PF) or scoring wing, or even just adding a good 3+D swingman for Blatche and looking for his ideal replacement through the draft or other acquisitions.

Starting a revived Rashard at SF gives the Wall help in opening things up, but I don't mind Vesely or Singleton starting if they bring something to justify it. Booker's 1st big off the bench, only SF during oddball mismatches that (hopefully) the Wizards themselves created advantageously.

Yep, in a year and a half when the Hawks have fallen flat, Joe Johnson has been amnesty'd and Al Horford is begging his way out of town, we'll be able to put a nice package together.

[Black Eyed Sooz]

I watched the Hemofarm game and I think Vesely's shooting stroke looks decent and, like Flip Saunders is saying, he just needs to get more shots up and tweak a couple of things and he'll be fine. I think his 35% 3 pt shooting that he put up in limited opportunities will be close to what he can do in the NBA. And that would put him in the same category as guys like Gallinari, Rashard Lewis, and Ginobili, who are all close to 80% from the FT line.

Weight-wise, he is a ways away from being an NBA 4, but he does have the beginnings of a drop step and decent touch in the lane. He just doesn't have any countermoves right now so he kind of freaks out if he doesn't beat his man with the initial move, and then throws a bad pass.

He does seem to have good court sense and positioning, and does a good job of using his length on defense (i.e. not getting pump faked into the rafters a la Pierre).

His athleticism is as advertised, not just his vertical, but man he is quick getting from the 3 point line to the rim on those alley-oops. He also has good conditioning which was one of our big problems last year especially in the 4th quarter with all sorts of teams making runs on us.

I can see why the Wizards like this kid... but I don't know that he looked more impressive than, say, Bismack Biyombo did at the Nike Hoop Summit. I personally would've taken Bismack and his rebounding and shotblocking, but what can you say except that that battleship has already sailed...

[pancakes3]

Free throws are a tricky thing. there are a million different strategies and they all confuse you if you really stop and think/analyze it.

feet together? feet apart. staggered steps? square up or lead with the shooting hand? start with the ball in the cradle or start elevated? am i hitching my arms too much? am i aiming properly? do i aim for a spot in the air where the ball will fall into the basket or aim at the basket itself? did i have enough backspin? did i put too much backspin? did i shoot it hard enough? did i overcompensate for the follow-through that i shot it too hard?

and the worse you get at FTs and the more you look for advice, the more likely you'll end up with a frankenstein monster of a FT shot that feels unnatural and artificial.

ultimately, a decent shooter who's crap at the FT line just has to get over the mental hump himself via thousands of FTs in the gym. Hopla can't do much to help.

a good FT shooter who's a terrible jumpshooter on the other hand... that's a lot easier to help out from a coaching vantage, imo.

[7-Day Dray]

I watched the Hemofarm game and I think Vesely's shooting stroke looks decent and, like Flip Saunders is saying, he just needs to get more shots up and tweak a couple of things and he'll be fine. I think his 35% 3 pt shooting that he put up in limited opportunities will be close to what he can do in the NBA. And that would put him in the same category as guys like Gallinari, Rashard Lewis, and Ginobili, who are all close to 80% from the FT line.

Weight-wise, he is a ways away from being an NBA 4, but he does have the beginnings of a drop step and decent touch in the lane. He just doesn't have any countermoves right now so he kind of freaks out if he doesn't beat his man with the initial move, and then throws a bad pass.

He does seem to have good court sense and positioning, and does a good job of using his length on defense (i.e. not getting pump faked into the rafters a la Pierre).

His athleticism is as advertised, not just his vertical, but man he is quick getting from the 3 point line to the rim on those alley-oops. He also has good conditioning which was one of our big problems last year especially in the 4th quarter with all sorts of teams making runs on us.

I can see why the Wizards like this kid... but I don't know that he looked more impressive than, say, Bismack Biyombo did at the Nike Hoop Summit. I personally would've taken Bismack and his rebounding and shotblocking, but what can you say except that that battleship has already sailed...

Excellent analysis. Agree with all your points.

[fishercob]

[
Also, everybody should WATCH THIS GAME:

http://www.youtube.com/user/underPFC#p/u/23/x0d4TtRMX3s

It is the penultimate Vesley scouting opportunity, being the Tommy Shepherd scouted Serb league championship game that cemented a Partizan sweep from just three weeks ago.

Vesley is hyper assertive in a fast paced match with that being good and bad in that he makes both nice plays and bad ones in a tight concentration. The competition must be the second best in the Serb league, but it's a slaughter and Vesley's man is decidedly not NBA caliber, so that's too bad, but it's still excellent footage for getting a feel for Czech Mate. I've seen the second game of the sweep too and between them, Vesley throws down not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, but seven disgusting Shaka Zulu dunks (and in fact, the other game is missing the fist quarter, so it might be eight). He also shows you a near airball free throw, an airball 3 and a number of bad passes, so it's balanced footage.

Like Nate was saying a few pages back, Vesley will thrive if you put him around a bunch of heady passers as his timing and feel for slashing off the ball is fantastic when combined with his tools and mentality. The dude is really smart and tough in anything that doesn't include defensive rebounding (he's turrible); standing out in particular is how he runs through screens, posts up and goes to the offensive glass. His ball handling is better than expected and he can pass, though he's wild there. His interior defense against anyone other than his (much smaller) man is not great either, at least considering what you'd hope for with his tools. I've seen games where his hands were bad and then I've seen ones where there's zero problems, so that's uncertain to me. He also either shoots 3's or, much more usually, attacks the rim; there's nothing in between with his game from what I've seen which is great if you ask me.

Anyway, just watch that game.

Also, search the page linked for 'Partizan KK' as there's a great trove of full games there.

Hey! So, I watched the game. A couple things before I get into Vesely.
(1) I LOVE the sign at the 1:01:29 mark. CLassy stuff.
(2) Jettles

So, as to Jan, I'm not going to be too alarmed because this was one game. But there's a lot not to like in this video. What is to like is well documented -- the energy, the passion, the athleticism. Seeing him serenaded by the crowd at the end puts the Cameron Crazies to shame. But...

As someone (Pruiti?) pointed out, his jump-passing gets him into trouble nearly every time. If he wants to be able to create out of the post, he needs to be able to shoot from there. I think he had jump passes from the post picked off or at least deflected five times.

He has this terrible habit of getting the ball on the wing and then panic-dribbling to the foul line (aka "the Al Thornton"), but unlike Big Al he doesn't have a pull-up jumper to go to with even a hint of credibility. He must have turned it over that way another three or four times. He needs to learn that if he's putting the ball on the floor he is going in one direction -- the rim.

His shot looked decent when his feet were set and eyes were on the target. He's got food form. It stands to reason that he can improve from 3 (and the line) considerably. Whether he actually does in anyone's guess.

A bunch of his points came during garbage time when the game was decided, and I was thinking back to David Blatt's scouting report (paraphrasing via GSW's SBNation outpost):

Can't shoot, can't create off dribble, can't really rebound, can pass but is not a facilitator or point forward. He can run the court but needs to really fall into perfect situation

This is NOT that situation. Whenever the Wiz retake the court, they're going to continue to lay bricks, turn it over a ton, struggle on the defensive boards, and lose a lot of games. I'm okay with that for another year; tanking for next year's draft is a sound strategy given what we have right now IMHO. But next summer -- draft, free agency, trades -- is going to be critically important, because we need to start showing progress in the win column in 12-13, or else the wheels could fall off the rebuild wagon.

[Severn Hoos]

So I was on vacation for the past week and haven't had much chance to post. When I saw the pick live, I was upset/disappointed to say the least. Since then I've warmed to V-Silly (mostly because the Singleton pick made the Wiz draft, IMO), but definitely still have concerns.

One thing about the pick, though, is - who else they would have taken. 3 of the next 4 picks were PGs (unless you think Jimmer can be a full-time SG, which I don't). The two guys after that are both SGs, but what would Thompson or Burks bring us? Then came the Forwards - Morrises & Leonard. I guess one of them could have been the pick, but based on all the other teams that passed, I don't know that I'm too upset that we didn't pick at 6 the guy who ultimately went 14 or 15.

Then there's the wishful thinking of trade-downs, but we don't have any idea what was actually available, so I'll leave that to the side. Meaning - unless we were going to take Biyombo (and people are complaining about our lack of shooting as it is!), Jan had to be the pick. In other words, my disappointment in the end is not so much with the Front Office as it is in where we wound up in the Lottery.

Now, all that said - I wanted to point out one play that made me think we may have something special here. Check out this video, the play beginning atthe 0:35 mark

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbq0fSxtRG8&feature=related[/youtube]

OK, first he dribbles the length of the court after a steal. On the Wiz he'd sure better give the ball to #11, but we'll let that slide for this one.

The play I'm referring to is the finish. He's coming in on the right wing (see, I like him already )with a defender chasing from the middle of the court. He takes the ball on his right hip, one step with the right foot, brings the ball over his head to the left as the defender runs underneath him, plants his left foot and is clear to the basket.

Nothing unusual so far, we've seen this play a million times in the NBA. The difference is that most guys - including LeBron, Wade, Kobe, etc. then lay the ball off the backboard because their momentum is going the opposite way, jumping off the wrong foot, etc. But V-Silly is so long, he simply dunks the ball while barely jumping.

As I said, I've seen that play a million times, and a fair number of those times, a trailing defender has an easy block to swat the ball off the backboard, and sometimes even start a fast break the other direction. Try that against Jan and it will end up as a 3-point play. (OK, 3-point opportunity...)

So much length, good coordination, and great speed for his size. I can see how he converted 74% at the rim or whatever it was.

Still not sure how he'll fit in (PF next to Singleton/Lewis? SF in a triple towers lineup? But for now, I'm willing to wait and see what we have. He certainly doesn't lack for confidence or effort, so if he puts the work in (especially on his shot!) he could end up being special.

[dangermouse]

On an unrelated note, it just occurred to me that in the months leading up to the draft, I finally picked up NBA2k11 and started a My Player.

My dude was...
..... European
..... extremely athletic
..... a great offensive rebounder and dunker
..... deadly on the fast break
..... an excellent defender
..... a mediocre shooter

After I forced a trade to the Wizards, we rolled all the way to a 5th seed in the playoffs. I'm not saying I have magical powers, I'm just saying that if we end up around the 5th seed and Jan is playing serious minutes... ok, yeah, then I have magical powers.

Man, i tried MyPlayer once and i made myself (white, 5'10", shooter PG) and could barely crack a rotation in the d-league haha.

If there is no season this year i think 2k11 and 2k12 (when its out) will keep me from clawing at the walls too much.

[Hoopalotta]

Hey! So, I watched the game. A couple things before I get into Vesely.
(1) I LOVE the sign at the 1:01:29 mark. CLassy stuff.
(2) Jettles

So, as to Jan, I'm not going to be too alarmed because this was one game. But there's a lot not to like in this video. What is to like is well documented -- the energy, the passion, the athleticism. Seeing him serenaded by the crowd at the end puts the Cameron Crazies to shame. But...

As someone (Pruiti?) pointed out, his jump-passing gets him into trouble nearly every time. If he wants to be able to create out of the post, he needs to be able to shoot from there. I think he had jump passes from the post picked off or at least deflected five times.

He has this terrible habit of getting the ball on the wing and then panic-dribbling to the foul line (aka "the Al Thornton"), but unlike Big Al he doesn't have a pull-up jumper to go to with even a hint of credibility. He must have turned it over that way another three or four times. He needs to learn that if he's putting the ball on the floor he is going in one direction -- the rim.

Fisher,

I don't think you should worry so much as that's basically "Vesley's high usage game which came out of nowhere". That's why I picked that one in particular as he's forcing the issue and showing where his skills are (other games can be a lot less illuminating as there's so much team ball going on and he might just put up 2 or 3 shots).

But that was a five turnover game and he only had 4 all year out of 60 games where he registered either 4 or 5 turnovers. Then, he only had 3 games with so much as 3 turnovers as well and that's compared with 39 games with either 1 or 0. Suffice to say the Thornton drives and the high concentration of passing TO's are an anomaly.

I still think it's a good game for everyone to see in that it's kind of concentrated and fairly NBA style from a tempo perspective. And it's best not to just see his absolute best game and be done with it anyway - show me the warts!

Anywho, some of that stuff I don't think you need to worry about as he probably knew there were a bunch of scouts in the building more than anything.

[hands11]

Boiler isn't a small forward.

Yet I will still say that it is likely he starts the season there for the reasons I already posted. I get it that you don't agree. We will have to wait and see what happens.

[montestewart]

Boiler isn't a small forward.

did your fingers slip or this a Booker nickname? I like it. Boiler

[nate33]

Boiler isn't a small forward.

did your fingers slip or this a Booker nickname? I like it. Boiler

Autocorrect on my new smart phone.